Darkness And Dawn
by xXBalorBabeXx
Summary: For a minute, she felt like she was back home... and then the horrifying reality set back in. (AU from Bloodletting, co-written with werewolf-queen-022)
1. Letting It All Rest

**A/N: Shout out to Howl Of A Werewolf for helping with this and dialogue for future chapters.**

 _ **Two months ago…**_

" _Hey… why the look on your face?" Shane responded after walking into one of the tents at the Atlanta camp, 15 year old Harper taking a few seconds to compose herself._

" _I have a feeling that you lied… when you said that my dad is dead, I can't get that damn feeling to let go." Harper explained, the redhead staring right at Shane as she spoke and Shane realising whatever was left of her innocence was long gone._

" _Harper, it's not easy to accept the loss of a family member-" Shane responded, Harper turning furious._

" _Stop with that, you condescending bastard! You want to know about loss?! My biological mother died when I was 12, my stepfather who raised me like his own took his own life! Before you start up again, I was damn happy to be rid of him because he didn't see me as his kid after the accident and completely lost it, slapping me around whenever he felt like I fucked up! And then Dad and Mom took me in, treated me like I had been their child from the start! You don't get to rip my family apart by telling me that my father is dead and sleeping with my mom!" Harper yelled, Shane realising that she had seen him and Lori in the woods._

" _I wish they had let you go into the damn foster care system!" Shane responded before he could control himself, Harper's right hand cracking hard across Shane's face and him stumbling back._

" _Well too damn bad, Officer Walsh. You didn't get what you wanted." Harper replied coldly before Shane left, thinking that she'd calm down._

 _But after a while, the unsettling feeling crept in and he went to the tent… the blankets on the cot were tucked in around the edges but not tightly and Shane walked over._

" _Harper… look, I really shouldn't have said what I said to you earlier. All you ever wanted after everything fell apart for you was to feel safe again…" Shane responded._

 _But he trailed off when he realised that something wasn't right… Harper wasn't snoring and anyone who was stood close enough to her when she slept could hear the faint noises._

" _Harper, pretending to be asleep won't…" Shane replied as he pulled the blankets back… only to see that on the cot was a pillow and clothes vaguely resembling a human form as Lori ran in._

" _Where is she?! Shane, where's my little girl?!" Lori responded, absolutely panicked._

 _Shane had no idea how to tell her about what had happened earlier but he knew he had to…_

 **Present time,** _ **Rick's Perspective**_ **…**

I could hear Shane yelling at the man he's dragging along with us as we ran across the fields, my little girl in my arms and bleeding from a bullet wound in her right side.

"How far?! How far?!" I yell at the man.

"That way! Talk to Hershel, he'll help your daughter!" The man responded as I kept running… you hang on, Harper, everything's gonna be okay!

I reach the farm, hearing a girl yell "Dad!" before an older man, a woman, a boy and two girls run outside.

"Was she bit?" The man asked.

"Shot… by your friend…" I managed to respond.

"Otis?!" The older woman asked as the man walked over.

"He said to find Hershel! Is that you?! Help, please, help my little girl!" I responded before we were guided inside the house and upstairs to a room.

"Patricia, I need my full kit. Maggie, painkillers, coagulants, grab everything!" Hershel responded before I put Harper on the bed and grab the pillowcase, folding it and pressing it against her wound as Hershel grabs his stethoscope and presses the metal end to her. "Got a heartbeat, she's hanging on. Your name?"

"Rick." I replied, grabbing onto Harper's left hand and brushing her hair back. "You're gonna be okay, baby girl. You're gonna be okay." I whispered, hoping she can hear me.

"Otis, how did this happen?" Hershel asked after looking at him.

"I was tracking a buck… I didn't see her, I swear I didn't see her until she was on the ground." Otis explained as Patricia hugged him.

"Deer slowed the bullet down, which saved her life… bullet went through clean but she's lost a lot of blood. What's her blood type?" Hershel responded after cleaning out the wound and looking back at me.

"O Negative." I answered.

"Patricia, we need you." Hershel replied after stopping the bleeding and stitching Harper up, Patricia walking over and sitting down before Hershel grabbed the needles and tube and started the transfusion.

All the times I've handled shootings… it's different when it's family, especially my own child.

 _ **Harper's Perspective…**_

It's slow to but I open my eyes and look around for her… but there's no sign of Sophia.

And where the hell are we? I turn my head to my left, seeing Dad, Shane and several other people.

"Hey… it's okay, kiddo, just stay as still as you can." Dad responded quietly, kissing me on my forehead.

The last thing I remember is seeing the deer… beautiful creatures, they are, they'd sometimes walk out of the woods in King County and go through the trash cans if they were hungry enough.

For a few seconds… it was like I was back home again.

"Easy now." Dad responded, carefully helping me lie back down as I try to get up to look for Sophia.

"We'll find Sophia, Harper." Shane replied, guilt in his eyes… and an older man looking at me.

"Is Sophia your little sister?" The man asked.

"No… but she's one of our group, we were all headed to Fort Benning when we had to hide under the cars on the highway. Sophia panicked and took off, her mother freaked out…" I explained, Dad lightly kissing me on my forehead.

When I'm left to rest for a bit, I grab the walkie talkie Dad left behind and switch it on.

"Morgan… I don't know if you can hear this but… be careful. The highway got overrun on our way to Fort Benning, one of our own ran off. If you reach the area, please keep an eye out… her name is Sophia, she has shoulder length blonde hair and blue eyes. If she's alive when you find her, keep her and Duane close to you and meet up with the others… we're off the main roads, look for a farm." I explained before brushing my tears away.

I set the walkie talkie down and look outside.

In the distance… I swear I can see her.


	2. All We Have Is Everyone With Us

_**A/N: Some parts will not follow the episodes exactly.**_

Two dogs barked as soon as they heard footsteps, the raven haired woman gently shushing them.

"It's okay, boys." She whispered as she and the group saw Maggie and the horse.

"Which of you is Lori?" Maggie asked.

"That's me, what happened?" Lori responded as she motioned for Carl to stay with the others, Daryl and the raven haired woman looking at each other.

"Where's Lil' Red?" Daryl whispered, the raven haired woman wondering the same thing before hearing Maggie explain to Lori that Harper had been shot.

"Shot?! By who?!" Lori responded as she held Carl close to her, Carl crying for his sister.

"Our friend, Otis. It was an accident, he said he didn't see her." Maggie explained as she helped Carl up onto the horse and then Lori as most of the group got in their vehicles and followed.

Daryl turned the engine off and got off of the motorcycle at the same time that Lori, Carl and Maggie ran into the house… he didn't stop the tears running down his face as he glanced at a photo of Merle and a red haired woman with pale green eyes.

The second he had seen Harper's blue eyes when they first saw each other, he knew they were Merle's as well.

He took a second to sit down before he saw the woman walk over, the dogs staying near Andrea.

"I don't think… I was paying attention back in the quarry when you told us your name." Daryl responded quietly as the woman sat down.

"Amber…" She replied before seeing the photo. "That woman there… looks a lot like Harper."

"Eva was her name, Merle called her Evie… all this time, he had a daughter and didn't know it." Daryl responded before putting the photo away, looking at Amber. "Before he got left behind, we were planning to rob them blind… and then I saw the look in Harper's eyes when she overheard us. Way too damn similar to how Merle is when he gets angry." He explained.

At the same time, Harper looked up after opening her eyes and saw Lori and Carl before they ran over… Carl let out a sob as he and Harper hugged each other, tears running down their faces as Lori and Rick hugged.

And Harper thought back…

" _Got no signal… maybe the roof." T-Dog responded before the group heard gunshots._

 _"Oh no, was that Dixon?" Andrea replied before they took off, heading upstairs to the door and busting it open to get to the roof._

" _Hey Dixon, are you crazy?!" Morales shouted._

" _Hey, you oughta be polite to a man with a gun! Only common sense!" Merle responded, Harper turning incensed._

" _You're wasting bullets that your group needs, bringing a horde of the undead after us! So fuck being polite to a man with a gun!" Harper shouted as she got in his face, Merle turning to the redheaded teen… he wasn't so much startled as he was angry, feeling like she was sassing him._

" _Harper, cool down, kiddo…" Rick responded, hoping to put distance between Harper and Merle._

" _You got something to say, Lil' Red, I suggest you say it." Merle replied._

" _Okay then… you keep acting like some deranged soldier or ex soldier on drugs and Daryl's never gonna see you again." Harper responded, Merle swinging at her… but she grabbed his right arm and twisted it behind his back before bringing her right knee up and slamming it into his wrist, Merle screaming in pain as he fell and Rick cuffed him._

" _Who the hell are you?!" Merle yelled._

" _Officer Friendly! And don't ever lay your hands on my daughter!" Rick growled. "Things are different now, we survive this by pulling together, not apart!"_

" _Screw you." Merle replied._

" _I can see you make a habit of missing the point." Rick responded._

" _Well screw you twice." Merle replied, Rick pressing the gun to his head._

" _You oughta be polite to a man with a gun! Only common sense!" Rick growled as Harper found a stash of cocaine._

" _Amber was right, you're too strung out to see clearly." Harper replied before she gripped Merle's jaw. "Got some on your nose there." She quipped before flicking him in his nose and then standing up and throwing it over the roof, which pissed Merle off._

" _That's my stuff! Bitch, if I get loose, you better pray! You hear me?! Both of you hear me?!" Merle yelled as Harper and Rick headed over to the ledge._

" _Yeah, your voice carries…" Rick muttered before he and Harper looked at each other._

" _I wonder what she saw in him… they were together long enough to create me and I doubt he even realises it." Harper replied as Morales walked over and the two hugged._

" _You're okay…" Morales whispered before they let go and he turned to Rick. "You're not Atlanta PD… where you from?"_

" _Up the road a ways." Rick responded, Morales chuckling._

" _Well Officer Friendly from up the road a ways… welcome to the big city." Morales replied…_

Harper snapped out of her thoughts when Amber walked in, the two hugging carefully.

"Hey how are you holding up kiddo?" Amber asked.

"Sore but the bullet went clean through…" Harper replied. "I tried getting a message through to Morgan and Duane but I don't think they heard it." She explained as they let go.

"No I imagine we're too far away now." Amber said.

"And Fort Benning's overrun… and if we're gonna find Sophia, we have to stay here." Harper responded. "I thought I saw her outside earlier…" She replied as she brushed her tears away.

"We will find her and she will be found alive. That's a promise." Amber said, hoping to reassure her.

Outside, Daryl was keeping an eye on Shadow and Banjo… and Banjo nuzzled his head against Daryl's hand, Daryl petting him.

"He's starting to like you." Amber said as she walked outside.

"Yeah… Lil' Red holding up okay?" Daryl replied.

"Bullet went clean through… just cleaned the wound and stitched it." Amber answered as they looked at each other. "I see it too, her resemblance to Merle… she has his eyes."

"Yeah. I remember what she said when they showed up… how she snapped his wrist." Daryl replied.

"Yes that's true." Amber said.

"The Dixon temper…" Daryl responded.

It was after the sun had gone down that Harper had gotten cleaned up and into clean pajamas borrowed from Beth… she looked out at the sky and heard a mix of static and someone saying "Hello, can anyone hear us?!" on the radio before she reached for it and grabbed it.

"Morgan?! Morgan, is that you?!" Harper replied, hoping to hear a response from him or Duane. "If it is you… Fort Benning could be overrun. If you see the highway, look for the RV or Dale and Carol. And keep Duane near you." She responded anyway before she felt a hand on her right shoulder and turned to see Daryl. "Where's Amber?"

"She's set up camp away from the rest of the group as usual." Daryl explained

"I think at some point, she'll open up more to everyone…" Harper responded as Daryl saw the radio in her right hand.

"Any luck?" Daryl asked.

"Signal was shaky." Harper responded before she set the radio down.

She swore to try again tomorrow.


	3. Searching For You

A distance away, Merle was walking around with two people he had met after getting out of Atlanta… and he glanced at a picture for a few seconds, a picture of Harper and Rick that he had taken from the camp before Harper took off to find Rick.

"Hey, mister? Who's that, the redhead?" One of them asked.

"My kid…" Merle replied before putting the photo away before they continued looking for the motorcycle. "Where'd you leave the damn thing, Daryl?" He muttered.

At the same time, Rick and Lori were keeping an eye on a sleeping Harper and Rick brushed Harper's hair out of her face.

"Any luck getting Amber to stay closer to the group tonight?" Rick asked.

"Daryl said that she was setting up camp away but not too far… he also said he'd keep an eye on her." Lori explained as she rubbed her head, which ached slightly as Harper opened her eyes.

"Mom, are you alright?" Harper questioned, having noticed how tired and pale Lori was… brushing it aside, Lori carefully held her daughter.

"I'm okay, kiddo… you just focus on getting better." Lori responded before they let go.

Amber was outside and Shadow whined slightly, noticing the look on his human's face.

"This isn't going to be a permanent thing.. once the girl is found, we'll go again. Just slip away into the night." Amber said, before gently patting him.

Shadow nodded… but Amber looked up to the window of the room that Harper was in.

"Kid, you might not know it but you don't make it easy to walk away. You, your little brother and the little girl." Amber responded quietly.

It was morning when Harper tried the radio again.

"We slept through the night without an attack… well, I really had no choice. Getting shot takes a lot out of someone… I hope you and your little boy are staying safe, Morgan." Harper responded before she heard footsteps and saw Shane. "Why do you have Banjo?" She asked after seeing the dog near Shane.

"Because Amber left both dogs behind. Figured she wouldn't mind if I took one." Shane explained.

"She's probably looking for Sophia with Daryl." Harper responded before Banjo jumped onto the bed and licked Harper's face, Harper laughing as she petted him.

Harper saw that Shane had shaved his hair off… and had a slight limp in his step as he walked closer before he sat down, Shane and Harper looking at each other.

"You're not gonna tell me what happened, are you?" Harper asked.

"All that matters is you getting better, kid." Shane responded, Harper letting it drop for now.

Once she was dressed, she headed downstairs… and looked for Otis.

But she was startled by sudden footsteps and turned to see an equally startled horse.

"Hey there…" Harper responded gently, petting the horse as Amber reached the farm. "Where's Daryl?" She asked.

"He ain't my worry, someone has taken Banjo and I want to know who." Amber responded.

"Shane's got him…" Harper responded, Amber heading into the house as Harper saw blood on the horse's saddle and climbed up. "Take me to Daryl, okay girl?" She replied, squeezing her legs against the horse in a gentle manner and the horse jumping off with her hanging on.

"Where's Harper going?" Shane asked as Amber walked in with Shadow following… and Amber looking out the window

"Damn it, she's gone looking for Daryl." Amber said.

"Stay here." Shane responded before going to find Rick… only to stop when he heard Andrea yell "Walker!" and ran towards the group.

"Just the one?" Rick asked as Shane grabbed an axe and Andrea grabbed her rifle. "Andrea, no, put the gun down! Shane, Hershel wants to deal with walkers!"

"What for, man? We got it covered." Shane responded.

"You idiots needs to shut up, I'll deal with it. For fuck's sake Andrea, point that thing somewhere else." Amber demanded, before grabbing her spiked bat.

At the same time, Harper got the horse to slow down and jumped off when she saw something… she reached for the Revolver but stopped as the others approached with weapons drawn.

"Put them down!" Harper responded.

"Is that Daryl?" Glenn replied in shock.

"That's the third time you pointed that thing at my head! You gonna pull the trigger or what?" Daryl yelled, disoriented as the group lowered their guns.

And then a gunshot rang out and Daryl fell.

"No!" Rick yelled as he, Shane and Harper checked on Daryl.

Andrea smiled… but then it disappeared once the realisation set in and she, Dale and Amber ran across the fields as the others ran out of the house.

"I was kidding…" Daryl replied in an attempt to joke.

"Rick!" Lori yelled frantically.

"What on earth's going on out here?!" Hershel responded.

"Is he dead?!" Andrea responded frantically as Rick and Shane helped Daryl up.

"Just grazed him…" Harper replied as she caught her breath.

"He's wearing ears!" Glenn replied in a startled manner, Rick snatching the makeshift necklace off and hiding it as T-Dog picked something up.

"Let's keep that to ourselves." Rick responded as he and Shane helped Daryl to the farmhouse.

"Hey guys? Isn't this Sophia's?" T-Dog responded as he held the doll up, Harper, Andrea, Dale, Rick, Glenn, Shane and Amber looking at each other.

In the house, Daryl was being fixed up.

"I found it washed up on a creekbed… figured she must've dropped it there while crossing." Daryl explained.

"Cuts the grid almost in half. How is he?" Rick responded.

"I didn't think we'd be going through the antibiotics so fast." Hershel replied after stitching Daryl up. "Any idea what happened to my horse?"

"You mean the one that almost killed me? If it's smart, it left the country." Daryl responded.

"She… and I don't know where she took off to after the gunshot startled her." Harper explained.

"We call that one Nellie. As in Nervous Nellie, could've told you she'd throw you if you'd bothered to ask." Hershel replied before he glanced at the others. "It's a wonder y'all survived this long." He responded as Rick held Harper close to him, the two hugging before he cradled her face in his hands.

"Don't ever take off on your own again, Harper Rose." Rick responded quietly, kissing her on her forehead before they hugged again.

Daryl glanced at Amber, who was trying to avoid eye contact with everyone.

And he had a feeling why.

"You didn't have a dad…" Daryl replied once he and Amber were alone.

"Nope apparently from what my mom has said he ran away with a stripper when I was a baby or some bullshit like that." Amber said.

"I wish mine had left… he used to hit me and Merle every day. And then just me after Merle left." Daryl responded, Amber looking at him.

"How can someone treat their own son in that kind of way?" Amber asked.

"He just wasn't cut out for it… I kinda think that if Merle had stayed with his ex, Harper would've turned out as messed up as him." Daryl replied.

"This Merle guy sounds like a real prick." Amber said.

"At times, he is… but he's the only one who really gave a damn about me when we were kids." Daryl responded as Amber sat down.

She knew there was more to him than she had initially thought.


End file.
